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Friday, April 30, 2004
Man's Stomach Falls Out After Operation
BBC: Man's stomach 'fell out' after op
A man recovering from a stomach operation had to be rushed back into hospital after his innards "fell out" when his wound burst. George Sternat, of Cairns, Australia, had just had surgical staples removed from his abdomen.
Cancer patient Mr Sternat was relaxing in his garden when he screamed out in pain, the AFP news agency reported.
His partner Cheryl Orme said he shouted: "Get the ambulance, my stomach fell out."
She added: "It's the most horrific thing I've ever seen, especially with someone you love.
"Every time I try to sleep I see George holding his stomach in his hands."
Music Plasma
Search for an artist and the search engine will return a map of other artists that are similar to your query and provide a discography with links to Amazon. [via Caris Matic]
Pilot Falls Asleep In Mid-Air...Twice
IOL: Pilot falls asleep in mid-air - twice
A Japanese airline pilot nodded off twice while at the controls of a domestic flight last month - in front of a transport official who happened to be on board for a routine inspection.
The 50-year-old All Nippon Airlines pilot has been grounded pending an internal probe ordered by industry regulators, company spokesperson Kunio Shibata said on Friday.
Shibata said the 80 passengers on the flight from Tokyo to the south-western city of Ube were never in danger because the Boeing 767-300 was flying on autopilot at the time of the March 23
incident.
The pilot, whose name has not been released, nodded off again a few minutes later, prompting the co-pilot to yell at him.
World Moon Rock Throwing Championships
Ananova: Town holds moon rock throwing championships
An Outback town in Australia is holding the World Moon Rock Throwing Championships. It is part of the Fossil Festival in Richmond, north-west Queensland.
Festival organiser Rob Ivers told ABC Australia the competition is similar to shot-putting but uses 30 kilogram moon rocks instead.
He explained: "Moon rocks are large spherical creations and they were formed in the inland crustacean sea of Queensland about 100 million years ago."
Driver Fined For Stopping To Use Mobile Phone
The Times: Driver fined for stopping car to talk
A motorist who pulled over to answer her mobile telephone has been given a ticket because she left her engine running. Danni Johnson, 23, had stopped her car by the side of the road in Christchurch, Dorset, and engaged the handbrake before taking the call from her boyfriend.
She was seen by a passing patrol car and was told that she was in breach of the new law banning the use of mobile phones while driving because her engine was still running, and issued with a £30 penalty notice.
A Home Office spokesman yesterday confirmed that the officers acted correctly, saying: “Someone is deemed to be in control of a vehicle if they are driving, sitting in it with the engine running or with the keys in the ignition.”
I'm sure that a lot of people, myself included, do not realise that you are still breaking the law if you stop to talk but don't switch off your engine. I think in this case the police officer could have been more lenient.
Cassini Gets Closer To Saturn
The Cassini-Huygens mission continues to return tremendous images of Saturn. The double spacecraft is now just two months away from arriving at the ringed planet to begin a four-year expedition of the gas giant and its many moons.
The latest image, taken from 48 million km away, fills the entire field of view of Cassini's narrow angle camera.
The latest picture, acquired on 27 March, is actually a composite of three exposures, in red, green and blue. Each pixel represents 286km (178 miles).
It is the last image in which the narrow angle camera will be able to see the whole of Saturn.
[via BBC]
Album Gets Ringtone Only Release
BBC: Album gets ringtone only release
A band from Germany has adopted a novel approach to getting their music heard by millions. Super Smart have turned their backs on vinyl and CDs and instead have decided to just release their album as ringtones.
The album, Panda Babies, is published by a German company that focuses on digital music for mobile phones.
Those curious enough to sample the mix of disco pop and electro punk will only have to pay an introductory price of 1.99 euros (£1.32) for Panda Babies.
Who's going to want to listen to an album as a ringtone? All we need now are mobile phones that can play music well enough to compete with MP3 players.
Windows Longhorn
Neowin have some exclusive screenshots of the version of Windows Longhorn that will most probably be distributed to developers at next weeks WinHEC conference.
Move To Cardiff And Live Longer
icWales: Move to Cardiff for a long life
MEN hoping for a long and healthy life should head for Cardiff and stay clear of Kingston upon Hull, a magazine claims.
The Welsh capital was dubbed the best place to live for its balance of work, rest and play. In contrast, the Humberside city has been branded the "fattest" in the UK and the worst location for those males in search of well-being.
Twenty-one cities were examined by Men's Health magazine and rated under headings for such things as obesity and heart disease.
Cardiff came out on top after notching up the best score overall. However people in Cardiff consume the most calories per day at 2,235 and the city has the slowest traffic speed with cars averaging 15.7mph.
Yellow Lines Painted Under Driver's Parked Car
Ananova: Yellow lines painted under driver's parked car
Driver Steve Tether received a parking ticket after workmen painted yellow lines under his car.
The men bounced his Nissan Micra away from the kerb, put down the markings and then bounced it back into position.
Mr Tether was then stunned to come back to his car in Hull and find a £30 fixed penalty ticket on it.
Staff at a nearby factory who had seen what happened came out to tell him and Mr Tether complained to Hull City Council, which cancelled the ticket.
QuadRacer Xtreme
Race your quad around the trail. [via Milk and Cookies]
Police Videos
A small but good collection of police videos from Ohio State Patrol. [via Entensity]
Thursday, April 29, 2004
Google Rank Calculator
I initially meant to post this last night but for some reason the post didn't save. Anyway, the Google Rank Calculator allows you to input an URL and a query and it will return the position that it appears in Google (providing that it is in the top 100). This a great time-saving tool.
I am currently No. 1 for my full name and the name of this site but I'm 78th for Welsh. Ideally I would like to be No. 1. Give me another year and I'll be up near the top. [via Diversionz]
Woman Told Not Flush Her Toilet At Night
BBC: Tenant told 'don't flush at night'
A Swansea Valley woman has been told by her council landlord not to flush her toilet at night because it is disturbing a neighbour.
Swansea Council has written to Elvira Davies asking her to refrain from pulling the chain at her ground floor flat in Craigcefnparc.
The 45-year-old is now taking legal advice and says she is flabbergasted at the request.
Ms Davies said she had taken to using her toilet in the dark at night after a housing officer told her the noise of the light switch was waking her neighbour.
Now she has received an official letter from the housing department asking her to stop flushing the toilet as well.
Eagle Attacks, Carries Off Bear Cub
Yahoo! Eagle Attacks, Carries Off Bear Cub
Norwegian zoologists were astonished to learn that a golden eagle recently snatched a small bear cub from its mother in what experts said was undoubtedly a first.
Two park rangers on a weekend patrol in the Lierne region of central Norway saw the eagle swoop down on the cub as it trotted along behind its mother and carry it away, one of the rangers told public broadcaster NRK.
A golden eagle normally weighs about six kilogrammes (13 pounds), while the bear cub was said to have weighed about half that.
Experts have until now believed that bears had no predators in the animal world. Mothers are also highly protective of their young.
Biologist Ole Jacob Soerensen, a bear specialist, said he had not heard of such an incident before.
This Is All We Need!
Yahoo! Tool Fights Pop-Up Ad Blockers
Falk eSolutions AG, a German-based vendor of online ad delivery systems, plans to offer publishers and marketers a way to thwart software that blocks pop-up and pop-under ads by automatically converting them into other forms of online ads when such software is detected.
But Falk's move to detect and overcome pop-up ad blockers won't be the last battle cry in the pop-up ad wars. As quickly as the company announced its new offering, one developer of ad-blocking software, InterMute Inc., was firing off its own challenge to those trying to overcome its AdSubtract software.
Hopefully it won't be long before other pop-up blockers follow suit.
Drunk Driving Teacher Fired...For Being Drunk
WNEM: Drunk Driving Teacher Fired
A driving teacher who gave local students a crash course on what not to do behind the wheel has been fired.
Police say that the instructor showed up for class Monday at the Sears Authorized Driving School intoxicated and also had a nearly empty bottle of rum on her when she was escorted from the class to the hospital.
Students taking the class say the teacher was slurring her words and falling over tables shortly after she showed them a movie about the dangers of drinking and driving.
Ryongchon Train Disaster Before and After Images
Before and after satellite photos of the train disaster in Ryongchon, North Korea. They clearly show the large area that was destroyed by the explosion.
Scary!
Engineers examine a sinkhole today in Owings Mills after two female passengers of a car that fell into the hole were rescued and hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries.
Self-Chilling Beer
This Is London: Self-Chilling Beer
It is every beer lover's summer nightmare - stuck in the middle of a park with the sun warming your drink. Thankfully, scientists have come up with a solution: the self-cooling beer can.
Slightly longer than a normal drink can, it simply needs a twist to cool its content down. It can, its inventors claim, cool a beer to the perfect temperature of 3C within three minutes.
Trials showed that on average, the temperature of the liquid in the can fell 16C when the system was activated. Drinks stayed cool for up to an hour. The cans are already being tested by two large British brewers, who hope to have them on sale before the end of the summer.
However one brewer (Scottish Courage) warned the technology could prove too expensive for the average consumer.
Knicker Nicker Steals 4,000 Pairs
A 55yo Japanese man has been arrested after stealing 4,000 pairs of knickers over a 30 year period.
"I love women's underwear and could not control my desire," he was quoted as saying by the private Fuji television network.
Many Died Saving Kims' Portraits in Blast?
This brought a smile to my face.
Many North Koreans died a "heroic death" after last week's train explosion by running into burning buildings to rescue portraits of leader Kim Jong-il and his father, the North's official media reported on Wednesday.
"Teacher Han Jong-suk, 56, also breathed her last with portraits in her bosom," KCNA said. Another teacher saved seven students, but died rescuing the portraits, it said.
Yeah right! Apparently...
Portraits of Kim and his late father, national founder Kim Il-sung, are mandatory fixtures in every home, office and factory in the hardline communist state of 23 million. All adults are required to wear lapel pins bearing images of one or both Kims.
[via Yahoo!]
Yetisports 4 - Albatross Overload
This version of Yetisports offers you more control over the distance that Pingu goes.
Wednesday, April 28, 2004
Blog Comments Experiment
Chris Pirillo is conducting a very interesting experiment on his blog. He has asked people to post absolutely anything they want in the comments on this post providing they use his name, email address and Web site address. He will post a comment amongst them all and you must see if you can figure out which one it is.
Movie Studios Milk Their Customers
This is something that most people already know but it still angers me how the movie studios take the mick out of it's customers particularly those who are not initially aware that movie companies plan in advance on releasing many versions of a movie (think LOTR).
On the first day of its DVD release, "Kill Bill Vol. 1," Quentin Tarantino's ultraviolent, ultrastylish revenge orgy starring Uma Thurman, sold 2 million copies and made a whopping $40 million. But what customers buying the disc didn't know was that Miramax is actually planning six different DVD releases of the "Kill Bill" films.
[via The Boston Globe]
Woman Tries To 'Smoke-Out' Wasps, Burns Down House, Wasps Don't Budge
BBC: Wasp smoke-out sets house ablaze
Firefighters have criticised the actions of a woman who set her house on fire while trying to smoke out a wasps nest in her home. Officers from Merthyr Tydfil were called to the property in Hillcrest in the Penydarrren area on Sunday night. It took 10 men two hours to bring the blaze under control.
It is thought the woman had lit a small fire outside the house to smoke out the wasps but timbers caught, spreading the flames to the roof.
Although the house was filled with smoke, the wasps remained in their nest until pest control officers were called to remove them.
Station officer Gareth Davies said that it was one of the most unusual call-outs he had had to deal with.
In Need Of A Haircut
A sheep which evaded humans for six years in New Zealand's Central Otago Mountains has been shorn in front of a live television audience.
Shrek's fleece weighed in at 27.5kg and was removed by former world champion sheep shearer Peter Casserley.
Mr Casserley used an old-fashioned pair of cutting blades to remove the fleece, described as "rock hard" in places.
Shrek looked a little disorientated when the shearing was over, but seemed to adjust to his new shape quickly. [Source: Ananova]
Update: The BBC has a picture of the sheep after it's trim.
How Well Do You Know Your 'Friends'?
Melissa over at Anything But Ordinary has posted a 23 question multi-choice Friends quiz that she found in people magazine. If you're a fan you should have much difficulty answering them although there are a few toughies.
Work Is Lethal
Work kills more people than war, the United Nations’ labour agency said. The International Labour Organisation said that 2.2 million people die of illnesses or accidents related to work each year. It urged employers to improve safety to mark World Day for Safety and Health at Work.
[via The Times]
World of Quotes
World of Quotes has over 32,000 quotes in almost 1,400 topics by over 10,000 authors and historical figures as well as over 17,000 proverbs in over 300 categories. You're bound to find that quote you once heard but couldn't remember who said it. [via The Presurfer]
The One Where All The Friends Make A Mint
The Times: The one where all the Friends make a mint
It will be the most lucrative 60 minutes of television. The much anticipated final episode of Friends — which ends a ten-year run of the quirky sitcom — is expected to ring up $40 million (£22 million) in advertising revenues for the NBC network, or $6.6 million for each of the six “friends”.
Advertisers have pushed up the price of 30-second slots to $2 million, nearly as high as the $2.3 million record for this year’s Super Bowl. Pepsi, Hewlett-Packard and Walt Disney are planning to advertise.
Executives say the price reflects the increasing difficulty of reaching large groups of viewers: multichannel television and the internet have fragmented audiences.
As many as one in four Americans is expected to tune in to the May 6 finale, which was taped on January 23. British viewers will have to wait until May 28 to see the farewell episode on Channel 4.
I know I will be watching, will you?
The Supermarket Workout
The Times: Shopping trolley joins push for fitness
Shoppers might think it is hard enough to push most supermarket trolleys already. Now Tesco is about to make it harder — deliberately.
Next week the chain wheels out the Tesco Trim Trolley, designed to make the typical 40-minute supermarket shop into a gentle workout. The shopper sets it to “different levels of shopping resistance” — making it harder or easier to push — and the trolley monitors heart rate, number of calories burnt, and when the shopper starts to burn fat instead of carbohydrates.
Shoppers are thought to burn up about 160 calories during a typical 40-minute visit to the supermarket, but pushing the Trim Trolley for the same time with the resistance level set at seven — with ten being the hardest — the average person would use up 280 calories, the equivalent of a 20-minute swim at a leisurely pace, and about double the amount used in walking for 40 minutes.
Robbers Try To Steal Suicide Bombers' Bomb...Boom!
Scotsman: Robbers Die Trying to Hold-Up Suicide Bomber
A Hamas suicide bomber blew up two armed Palestinians who tried to rob him at gun point in the Gaza Strip.
Hamas claimed the “stickup men” worked for Israeli intelligence, while Palestinian security forces said the two were ordinary thieves.
Rather than give up his explosives, the bomber detonated them, killing himself and the two robbers near the border fence between Gaza and Israel.
Palestinian security officials said the the gunmen were criminals who were involved in a car theft ring that brought stolen vehicles from Israel to Gaza.
Tuesday, April 27, 2004
Daily Links
Firefighters Called To Put Their Own Fire Engine Out
Record-Breaking Rhino Dies at Zoo
Drunk Bulldozer-Driving German Arrested
Girl's Fall Broken By Stray Dog
Cash Machine Gives Out Free Cash
Mum Gives Goldfish Kiss-Of-Life
German Woman In Court For Laughing
Clay Pigeon Shooter Goes Out With A Bang
Afghanistan Holds Post-Taliban Execution
Baseball Cap Is 50 Years Old
According to an article on the BBC Web site the baseball cap is 50 years old this year.
It started as the official headwear of ball players and became a favourite with sports fans and aging tourists. Now at 50, the baseball cap is ubiquitous.
But is the cap becoming synonymous with "Britain's underclass"? Take a look around the streets around Britain and the answer would be a resounding yes.
It is a look epitomised by the young urbanites fond of Burberry accessories, flashy jewellery and boxfresh trainers who have become known as Chavs, Scallies, Townies or Neds. It's a style described as council estate chic, a UK-take on the trailer trash aesthetic.
The webmaster of Chavscum.co.uk, a site dedicated to charting the rise of this urban tribe, says it's inconceivable to imagine a Chav without a baseball cap.
"It is amazing to think how a piece of apparel that started out 50 years ago as a genuine piece of sportswear has now become so synonymous with Britain's underclass."
Are The RIAA's Scare Tactics Working?
A new survey has revealed that 17 million Americans have stopped downloading music with a third stating that lawsuits being issued by the RIAA was the main reason for doing so. However, whilst 17m may have stopped downloading, the number of new people downloading has increased. The report does not state if these new users are downloading illegally or from legitimate sites. [via The Inquirer]
Fashion For Cows
Bandages Made From Skin Help Healing
The Sun: Skin dressings for burns
Bandages made from patients’ own skin are helping speed up treatment of burns. Doctors take skin cells from the thigh under local anaesthetic. After five days growing in a lab, they are put on a clear dressing and help to stimulate skin growth.
During trials in Sheffield, a nine-year-old boy’s bonfire burns began healing after just three days in a cell bandage.
Wounds can take six weeks to heal with traditional dressings, leading to scars. Surgeon David Ralston said: “Patients reported relief from pain pretty quickly.”
When I first read the headline I thought that the bandages may have been made from actual strips of skin but what is actually used doesn't sound to bad.
Dog Bites Off Eyelid, Surgeon Reattaches It
Local6: Dog Bites Off Eyelid, Surgeon Reattaches It
She was home alone, putting her dog in its kennel when it snapped at her and bit her right upper eyelid. Alyssa Kieff pulled back. The lid ripped off.
Kieff, 22, of Marrero, had the presence of mind to put the lid on ice. Then she had to wait an hour for an ambulance -- her call was listed just as a dog bite, not a missing eyelid.
It took six hours for a team led by Dr. Kamran Khoobehi to sew the lid back together, rebuilding a damaged tear duct and connecting blood vessels with sutures only barely smaller than the capillaries themselves.
And if that wasn't bad enough...
For the next four days, doctors kept medicinal leeches on Kieff's face. The squirmy invertebrates' job was to drain excess blood and improve circulation in the area until the reconnected blood vessels could function on their own.
Newsflash! Britney Mimes At Concert
The Sun: Hit me baby ... one more mime
Pop babe Britney Spears stunned a sell-out UK crowd last night by miming through her entire set.
Britney, 22, looked sensational in a skin-tight PVC catsuit as she kicked off her tour in London.
But the 12,000-strong Wembley Arena crowd — who had paid at least £30 each for tickets — could not believe it when she started lip-synching to a backing track.
One angry fan said: “If I wanted to see somebody mime to music, I would have gone to Top of the Pops.”
Did these fans didn't actually expect Britney to sing?
Homeless Student Lived In Library For 7 Months
Ananova: Homeless student lived in library for seven months
A homeless New York student says he slept for seven months in a university library without being caught.
Steve Stanzak, 20, says he set up home in New York University's main library because he couldn't afford housing costs on top of his tuition.
He was finally discovered by shocked administrators last week, reports the New York Post.
They found his website, www.homelessatnyu.com, in which he chronicled his undercover life in the Bobst Library on New York's Washington Square.
NYU spokesman John Beckman said Stanzac had now been provided with free housing for the rest of the semester. "The library is open 24 hours for a reason; there's a demand for students to study around the clock," he said. "And it's not unusual to see someone who's fallen asleep."
Broadband To Reach Almost All Of UK By 2005
BBC: BT broadband to reach almost all
BT has announced that it aims to make high-speed broadband services available to almost all homes and businesses in the UK by the middle of next year.
It says it will install the latest broadband technology in 1,128 exchanges by summer 2005, making it accessible to 99.6% of households and businesses.
Looks like this would almost fulfill the government's target of 100% availability by 2005.
